SUPPORT ON THE PICKET LINE
Canadian Hearing strike drags on
More than 150 supporters rallied Friday morning outside the local offices of the Canadian Hearing Society to bolster the spirits and the picket line of the 13 workers who have been on strike for four weeks.
One of those supporters was Chris Newman, who said he has had to postpone appointments for himself and his family because interpreters are not available.
“I’m here to speak for the deaf community of Windsor and Essex County to talk about how much we value the services of the Canadian Hearing Society,” Newman said. “We need to come out and support them.”
CHS staff interpreter Christie Reaume interpreted for Newman as he spoke to the Star.
Newman, 35, has been deaf since birth. He said without an interpreter available, he’s forced to write back and forth to communicate.
“It’s very difficult,” he said. “If we have to write back and forth in English it’s incredibly difficult ( because) my first language is American Sign Language.”
Newman said he’s been managing for the most part during the strike but he’s worried what may happen if it continues.
“Luckily for me, nothing serious has happened since they’ve been on strike but I do have an appointment coming up that is relatively serious for my daughter and we’ve had to postpone because I don’t have an interpreter available,” he said.
Reaume said she and her coworkers, members of CUPE 2073, have been off the job since March 5 when contract talks broke down.
Both sides returned to the table Wednesday and talks were continuing as of Friday afternoon.
She said changes to sick time and a lack of pay increases are the main sticking points in the negotiations.
“We went on strike because it’s been four years since we’ve had a contract and talks broke down,” Reaume said.
“Our sick plan is being gutted and as far as I know there’s no pay increase for the last four years and also for this contract as well.”
The Canadian Hearing Society offers a variety of services for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community — audiology services, hearing tests, servicing hearing aids, a hearing care counselling program with in-home visits for homebound seniors and mental health services.
Reaume said interpreters are hired by employers, hospitals and other medical professionals to provide interpretive services in American Sign Language to ensure accessibility.
She couldn’t give any hard numbers on how many people are being affected by the work stoppage but said hearing loss can happen at any stage of life.
“Typically what they say is 10 per cent of any population has a hearing loss and then two per cent of that population is deaf or hard of hearing in terms of using sign language,” she said.